The invention relates to a method for cutting food, in particular a loaf-shaped food, in which a loaf of the food is advanced toward a cutting device by means of a feed apparatus and cut into slices, strips or cubes by the cutting device.
The invention also relates to a method for cutting a loaf-shaped food, in which a loaf of the food is advanced toward a cutting device by means of a feed apparatus and cut into slices, strips or cubes by said cutting device, wherein the loaf is fixed during the feed movement by means of a vacuum gripper that is advanced together with the loaf, and wherein a negative pressure is generated within the interior of a contact element of the vacuum gripper and acts upon a fixing region of the surface of the loaf in a suction region of the contact element.
The invention furthermore pertains to a cutting machine for cutting a loaf-shaped food that makes it possible to cut a loaf of the food into slices, strips or cubes and features a feed apparatus for advancing the loaf toward the cutting device during the cutting process, wherein the feed apparatus features a vacuum gripper that makes it possible to fix the loaf during the feed movement and can be advanced toward the cutting device together with the loaf, and wherein a negative pressure can be generated within an interior of the contact element of the vacuum gripper and acts upon a fixing region of the surface of the loaf in a suction region of the contact element.
The invention also pertains to a vacuum gripper for a cutting machine for cutting a loaf-shaped food, such that the loaf of the food can be fixed by means of the vacuum gripper during a feed movement, and a negative pressure is generated within the interior of a contact element of the vacuum gripper and acts upon at least one fixing region of the surface of the loaf in at least one suction region of the contact element.
A method and a cutting machine for cutting into slices, strips or cubes are generally known. As compared with the utilization of gripping hooks, fixing the loaf by means of a vacuum gripper provides the advantage that the loaf itself remains undamaged because its surface is not permanently changed by the contact element of the vacuum gripper. In the known methods and cutting machines, the negative pressure is generated with the aid of so-called vacuum pumps. The negative pressure is transmitted from the vacuum pump to the interior of the contact element through a line. The contact element itself typically consists of a rubber collar of sorts that is intended to compensate uneven areas and irregularities on the surface of the loaf due to its elastic properties in order to thusly prevent the admission of air into the suction region of the rubber collar after the negative pressure is applied. During the cutting mode of the known machines, the vacuum pumps used typically operate continuously such that they do not have to be switched on and off between the cutting of two successive loafs, wherein the continuously operating vacuum pumps also compensate possible leaks in the region of the contact element that would allow ambient air to flow into the interior of the contact element and permanently maintain a sufficiently high negative pressure.
DE 100 24 913 A1 discloses a cutting machine of the initially cited type, the feed apparatus of which comprises at least one “suction cup” that defines a negative pressure chamber, wherein this negative pressure chamber is open toward the loaf. The suction cup features a blade-shaped edge that is intended to ensure a very tight connection between the suction cup and the product loaf.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,295 also describes a cutting machine featuring a suction head with six suction regions that are arranged linearly adjacent to one another and equipped with blades that dig into the face to be fixed to a product being cut. In this case, each individual suction region is formed by an annular space between an inner blade and an outer blade extending concentric thereto. No suction region is arranged within the inner blade. The annular suction region therefore is outwardly and inwardly sealed by one respective blade.
However, the continuous operation of vacuum pumps proved problematic with respect to hygienic considerations. Air continuously flows from the vacuum gripper or the fixed loaf of food into the pump via the suction line between the interior of the contact element and the vacuum pump. Depending on the consistency of the food, it is unavoidable that food particles are transported into the vacuum pump via the suction line and discharged into the surroundings, i.e., the room in which the cutting machine is situated, together with the exhaust air of the vacuum pump. Since it is hardly possible to effectively clean the suction line and the vacuum pump, the food particles transported into the suction line and the vacuum pump lead to a germinal contamination of these regions over the course of time. The germs are then released into the ambient air together with the exhaust air flow of the vacuum pump and result in an increased germinal contamination in the room in which the known cutting machines are situated. This is particularly undesirable with respect to cutting machines with fully automated packaging machines connected thereto. In the packaging of sliced foods in welded self-service foil packages, any germinal contamination is extremely undesirable because the required minimum expiration dates could otherwise not be achieved. The cutting and packaging process nowadays typically takes place in quasi clean room-like environments, in which the germinal contaminations caused by known vacuum pumps are intolerable.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved method for cutting a loaf-shaped food, as well as a corresponding cutting machine in which the germinal contamination resulting from the utilization and operation of a vacuum gripper, as well as from the generation of negative pressure, is reduced. The present invention furthermore aims to make available a corresponding vacuum gripper.